Sunday, February 10, 2019

Pithoragarh: The Pantnagar-Pithoragarh flight made an emergency landing at Pantnagar airport just five minutes after take-off on Saturday afternoon.

While officials claimed that the sudden landing was due to a technical snag, passengers on-board the nine-seater aircraft said that the door of the plane opened mid-air creating panic among the passengers.

Lokesh Bora, a passenger, told TOI, “Just five minutes after the take-off around noon, the door of the aircraft suddenly burst open and air started gushing in. All of us were so panic stricken that we didn’t know what to do. There were two children on-board who started crying profusely. I have taken so many flights but have never faced such a situation in my life.”

He added “I was going to meet my mother in Pithoragarh. But now because of this incident, I had to cancel my plans. If the government wants more people to avail of flights on this sector which has been recently started, they should first ensure safety of passengers.”

Echoing similar sentiments, another passenger, Pankaj Chand said, “I was on board the flight with my family and it is a miracle that we are still alive. I am so shocked that I still can’t forget the trauma.”

Confirming the snag, Pantnagar airport director SK Singh said, “The aircraft operated by Heritage Aviation made an emergency landing on Saturday due to some technical problem. We are looking into the matter. Meanwhile, all flights between February 10 and 12 have been cancelled.”
He, however, denied claims of the aircraft door opening mid-air.
10/01/12 Prem Punetha/Times of India